dafran
Francesca in 2022
Personal information
NameDaniel Francesca
BornDecember 27, 1993 (1993-12-27) (age 30)
NationalityDane
Career information
GamesOverwatch
Playing career2016–2019
RoleDamage
Number99
Team history
2016Denmark
2017Selfless Gaming
2019Atlanta Reign
Twitch information
Channel
Years active2013–present
Followers874 thousand
Last updated: May 4, 2023

Daniel Francesca (born December 27, 1993),[1] better known as dafran, is a Danish Twitch video game streamer and former professional Overwatch player. As an esports competitor, Francesca represented Selfless Gaming before being suspended from competitive play. He returned to competitive play with Atlanta Reign, one of the expansion franchises for the 2019 Overwatch League season. At the end of the Stage 1 of the League's 2019 season, Francesca announced that he would be stepping away from competitive play in favor of being a full-time streamer for the Atlanta Reign. Francesca has also played in the Overwatch World Cup for Team Denmark in 2016.[2]

Career

Selfless Gaming

On January 31, 2017, esports organization Selfless Gaming announced the addition of Francesca to their Overwatch roster.[3] The team qualified for Season Zero of Overwatch Contenders 2017 on June 3; however, two days later, Francesca was suspended from casual and competitive play by Blizzard and Selfless Gaming after throwing Overwatch games on stream while streaming a pornographic dating sim game, Nekopara, atop his matches.[4][5] "While Dafran will no longer be playing with our team," Selfless said in a statement, "we will be assisting him in finding the help, counseling, and guidance that he needs to improve his mental and emotional well-being."[6] While Francesca was still on the team's roster, Selfless disbanded on July 7, 2017.[7]

Atlanta Reign

Francesca was approved to join Atlanta's professional Overwatch League team (later revealed as Atlanta Reign) in September 2018; although he refuted the claim. A month later, Reign announced their inaugural season starting roster, which included dafran.[8][9] On November 7, Francesca announced via Twitter that he would be leaving the Overwatch League, stating, "The end. I hate the game. Thought I could love it again and have passion, but it's impossible. I always end up soft throwing. Contract ended. Overwatch uninstalled. McDonald's here I come. For real though, thanks for everything you have given me OW community." However, he apologized and rejoined the team a day later, stating that he made a "dumb" mistake.[10] The retraction marked the fourth time in nearly four months that he had changed his intentions about participating in the Overwatch League.[11]

Throughout Stage 1 of the 2019 season, Francesca had the top-selling Overwatch League jersey, ahead of the 2018 season MVP Bang "JJonak" Sung-hyeon.[12] Francesca helped Atlanta Reign finish Stage 1 with a 4–3 record and a Stage 1 playoff berth.[13][14] Reign lost in the quarterfinals to Philadelphia Fusion on March 22; five days later, Francesca announced that he was, again, officially retiring from the Overwatch League and becoming an official Atlanta Reign streamer, citing that professional gaming was not something he enjoyed anymore.[15][16]

References

  1. ↑ @ATLReign (December 28, 2018). "Today we're all dudes as we celebrate THE DUDE - happy Birthday @dafran" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  2. ↑ "Dafran Reveals Why He Won't Compete in the Overwatch World Cup". Dexerto. March 29, 2018. Archived from the original on July 16, 2019. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
  3. ↑ Selfless Gaming (January 31, 2017). "Selfless Overwatch - 2017 Roster Updates". Archived from the original on July 16, 2019. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
  4. ↑ Prescott, Shaun (June 9, 2017). "Blizzard suspends pro Overwatch player Dafran for griefing". PC Gamer. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
  5. ↑ Khosravi, Ryan (June 9, 2017). "'Overwatch' Dafran Banned: Highest-ranked player in North America was banned for trolling on Twitch". Mic. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
  6. ↑ Grayson, Nathan (June 8, 2017). "Overwatch Pro Suspended After Griefing And Streaming Anime Porn". Kotaku. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
  7. ↑ Carpenter, Nicole (July 7, 2017). "Selfless to sell organization and drop Overwatch team". Dot Esports. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
  8. ↑ "dafran rounds out Atlanta Reign's OWL roster". ESPN. Field Level Media. October 29, 2018. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
  9. ↑ Carpenter, Nicole (October 28, 2018). "Controversial streamer Dafran signed to Atlanta Reign Overwatch League roster". Dot Esports. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
  10. ↑ "Atlanta Reign's dafran rejoins Overwatch roster". ESPN. Reuters. November 9, 2018. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
  11. ↑ Cooney, Bill (November 9, 2018). "Dafran clarifies his status in the Overwatch League". Dexerto. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
  12. ↑ Newell, Adam (March 14, 2019). "Atlanta Reign's Dafran has the top-selling Overwatch League jersey since the end of January". Dot Esports. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
  13. ↑ Niederhoffer, Noah (March 29, 2019). "The top things to know as Overwatch League Stage 2 approaches". The Washington Post. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
  14. ↑ ESPN Stats and Info (March 22, 2019). "What you need to know about the Overwatch League Stage 1 playoffs". ESPN. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
  15. ↑ "Dafran retires from Overwatch, joins Reign stream team". ESPN. Reuters. March 28, 2019. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
  16. ↑ Chalk, Andy (March 28, 2019). "Atlanta Reign star Daniel 'dafran' Francesca retires from Overwatch League". PC Gamer. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
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